Fritchen reflects on defeat

Lone voice against bankruptcy looks back on political life, ahead to future

STOCKTON - Dale Fritchen will soon be off the Stockton City Council after a tumultuous year defined by bankruptcy, high crime and a bruising defeat in the election.

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By Scott Smith

recordnet.com

By Scott Smith

Posted Nov. 28, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By Scott Smith

Posted Nov. 28, 2012 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

STOCKTON - Dale Fritchen will soon be off the Stockton City Council after a tumultuous year defined by bankruptcy, high crime and a bruising defeat in the election.

Don't think he's about to slink off into a life of obscurity.

Fritchen, 53, is in the early stages of founding a nonprofit organization that he's calling Foster Angels, which will give local foster children band instruments, sports uniforms, science camp tuition, braces, tutoring and any number of things the state can't provide.

On top of his full-time county job supervising child abuse investigators, Fritchen said he spent 30 hours each week on city business. He plans next to pour that time into his new endeavor, through which he hopes to make a difference. He won't miss the cut-throat politics he encountered at City Hall.

"It's ruthless," he said. "There are people who are out to get you ... politicians who put personal benefit above community benefit."

Fritchen recently reflected on his 12 years in politics, dissecting the Nov. 6 election results and looking ahead.

A husband and father of three children, Fritchen lives in the Weston Ranch neighborhood of South Stockton. He served eight years on the Manteca Unified School Board before winning a seat in 2008 on the Stockton City Council representing District 6.

In the past year, he became the lone wolf council member leading a campaign aimed at averting Stockton's bankruptcy. He was ultimately unsuccessful, when the council voted 6-1 in June to seek Chapter 9 protection.

Three of four incumbents, including Fritchen, were defeated at the polls just five months later. Fritchen lost to 22-year-old challenger Michael Tubbs by 24 percentage points (62-38). Mayor Ann Johnston and Councilwoman Diana Lowery also were ousted. Only Vice Mayor Kathy Miller prevailed in her re-election campaign.

Bankruptcy didn't lead to their downfall, Fritchen said. Rather, he believes voters vented their frustration with the city's inability to rein in crime.

"Voters sent a message," he said. "They want a different direction."

Fritchen this summer led a series of town hall meetings throughout the city trying to explain what he considered the perils of bankruptcy. That effort didn't register at the polls with residents, he said.

The most discouraging moment for him happened amid bankruptcy talks, when a fellow council member refused to shake his hand, saying, "she wouldn't shake the hand of someone trying to destroy her community." Fritchen wouldn't name the council member.

This caustic element in Stockton politics often dissuades good people from participating, he said.

"They'll avoid it, and that's unfortunate. We need more good people," he said. "Why get involved in the City Council for $22,000 a year and be targeted?"

Miller said she wasn't the one who snubbed Fritchen's handshake. Yet, she expressed disappointment in Fritchen because early on he had presented a fiscally conservative position, vocalizing the need to make tough choices.

When election season opened and Tubbs emerged as a challenger, Fritchen flip-flopped, Miller said. She described Fritchen as taking a position against bankruptcy - and against the other six council members - purely for political gain in a political tactic, a move Fritchen adamantly denies.

"I think politics in Stockton is a full-contact sport," Miller said. "It really is. If you're not prepared for that, then it's probably not for you."

Fritchen said his largest regret is failing to sway more of the council to side with him to vote down bankruptcy. He now questions if he was enough of a political animal to survive in Stockton.

"I'm too honest. I'm too upfront with people," Fritchen said. "I guess I'm different from other politicians. I think that's a good thing."

Tubbs, who will take Fritchen's seat Jan. 8, said he's undaunted by the challenges ahead of him on the council, including the rough-and-tumble nature of city politics.

"Sometimes hard choices can be difficult to make," Tubbs said. "That's part of life inside office or out. Sometimes you have to deal with people you don't like. I'm not sure that's ruthless."

Fritchen said he has not reached out to Tubbs but plans to write a public letter congratulating his opponent's victory. The city doesn't gain anything by wishing Tubbs ill, Fritchen said.

As for the sting of losing, Fritchen said that will subside. His experience at City Hall makes him reluctant to consider again entering politics at any level, but he hasn't ruled it out completely.

"Nobody likes to lose, but that will pass," he said, adding that being idle is not an option for him. "I'll be busy. ... I can't just sit back and watch TV in my underwear."